A good customer testimonial is worth its weight in gold. The most effective way to convert prospects into first-time buyers is through testimonials from your satisfied customers.

There are two types of testimonials, unsolicited and solicited. Unsolicited testimonials land on your doorstep without you asking for them. Your customers take the initiative to compliment your products or service and give you permission to quote them.

Solicited testimonials are the comments you invite your customers to give. There are many ways to collect sincere customer testimonials. When you ask for their opinions it not only provides you with great quotes, it also helps you to see the business from their point of view.

Call your customers to thank them for doing business with you. Ask these questions:

"How are we doing?"

"How was your last experience with us?"

"What do you like best about our company, or products, or service?"

Encourage employees to ask for customer feedback every time they interact with customers. Don't just ask, "How was everything?" Get creative and ask:

"Did we do anything to exceed your expectations today?"

"Our goal was to surprise and delight you with our service. Did we achieve that goal?"

"What would you tell your friends about what it's like to do business with us?"

Invite your customers to post their comments on your website.

The folks at Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, a theme and water park in Santa Claus, Indiana, try to take customer service to the extreme. They offer free parking, soft drinks and sunscreen. They have won the title “Friendliest Park on the Planet” for eight consecutive years from the readers of Amusement Today magazine. Last year, the park started a “What Our Guests Are Saying” blog a year ago, as a way to get feedback from their customers. They've been flooded with wonderful testimonials.

Get permission to quote your customers and list their names and credentials.

Customer testimonials are a powerful marketing tool. Be sure to request permission to quote your customers. In order for a testimonial to be truly valuable, it must be believable. Testimonials that include the customer's name, title, company and other information add validity and build customer trust.

Accept the fact that you'll also receive negative feedback along with positive testimonials.

The more frequently you ask your customers how they feel, the more likely you are to receive some mixed reviews. No problem. A negative comment from a customer can be turned into a positive testimonial if you respond to their complaint and make changes to prevent the problem from recurring.

Customers choose to do business with people they like, respect and trust. But you need to know how to respond to your customers based on their behavioral styles if you want to build this level of rapport. For example, a dominant customer loses patience easily and wants to control situations in order to get the results he or she desires. An outgoing, relationship-oriented customer may want to talk your ear off. A customer who appears quiet or aloof may need to be reassured about a product's quality and reliability.

People generally make the mistake of assuming that others interact and think in the same way they do. One of the biggest challenges to effective interaction is to recognize that people may have a behavioral style that's different from your own. According to Zig Ziglar, over 80% of the people who move up in corporations are promoted because of their people skills, not technical ability.

The ability to build rapport with people is a fundamental skill in sales, management, customer relationships, and everyday life. The goal of DISCself is to help you can discover your behavioral style. You'll learn how others perceive you, how to recognize other styles and how to adapt the way you communicate.

The DISC language allows you to compartmentalize four distinct behavioral styles. Here are descriptors to help you identify the different styles:

Loyalty Leader® is pleased to present you with the DISCstyles Online Assessment. Once you order, you can take your 24-question self-assessment and receive your in-depth report shortly after you've submitted your responses. Then stand back and watch the results as you learn how to adapt your style for greater communication with others.

Cubicles or “cubies” abound whether you work in a Fortune 500 company or a small family-owned business. Cubicles serve the purpose of allowing many employees to occupy a single floor while providing an enclosed workspace. When you don’t qualify for the corner office, a “cubie” can be a “home away from home,” a place where you can hang family photos and even funny, yet tasteful, cartoons. But, if you’re currently housed in a cubicle, you know that there is no such thing as privacy. Shared workspace is like working in a fishbowl.

During this telephone seminar, Debra J. Schmidt will teach you 45 easy-to-follow rules of cubicle etiquette that will help strengthen relationships with your workplace neighbors...co-workers.

While we were discussing school and friendships at dinner one night, Dave explained the different types of kids at his school.

"What type of kid are you?" I asked.

"I'm nerdy-cool," Dave replied.

"What does that mean?"

"Sometimes, I hang out with the really popular kids and we play soccer on the playground. But I also hang out with kids who don't play sports during recess. I like singing in the lunchtime choir and participating in reading groups."

"It sounds like you get to know a lot of different kids that way."

Dave replied, "I like being nerdy-cool, because that way I can be friends with everyone."

I'd like to extend a warm welcome to all my new subscribers from the Wisconsin Innkeepers Association. You are receiving this newsletter (ezine) because you signed up or asked to be on the list. Please recommend this newsletter to anyone who is interested in building customer, employee or brand loyalty.

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